Smartphones and mobile devices are becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated. Extensive libraries of applications have been developed for such device. However, to date, most applications allow for little if any direct device-to-device interaction, instead routing most communications between devices through a web-based service. For example, most multi-player games for mobile devices are implemented as a remote, web-based game that is accessed over a network via a thin client on each of the mobile devices. As another example, most existing applications that employ location data rely on a fixed external infrastructure, such as a global positioning system (GPS) or location service, to determine location of the mobile devices.
Some specialized gaming consoles (e.g., Microsoft Kinect™ or Nintendo Wii™) have implemented real-time localization of devices. However, such systems rely heavily on the existence of a fixed external infrastructure, such as cameras, separate external sensors, base station (e.g., set-top box), etc.
None of the existing solutions are capable of implementing real-time three-dimension (3D) relative localization between two or more handheld or mobile devices without external infrastructure.